1817.] 

 at a liberty I take in addressing you ; but 

 being governed by motives of iiumanity, 

 and encouraged in my design by some 

 military gentlemen and merchants of the 

 United States, now in this place, I beg 

 leave to call your attention, for a mo- 

 ment, to the situation of the unhappy 

 persons in your country who have the 

 misfortune to be deaf and dumb. Af- 

 flicted myself tcit/i these iujirmities, and 

 J'eeUngwlth grciH sensiblUty for all those 

 in the same situatiuu; 1 have en(|uired 

 of the American gentlemen who have 

 visited our Institution in Eordcaux for 

 the instruction of the deaf and dumb, 

 whether there existed any similar esta- 

 blishment in the U. States. Ueing in- 

 formed, tiiat no such school had been es- 

 tablished with you, and learning that, 

 among your deaf and dumb, all those 

 who have not the meiuis of coming to 

 Eiiro])e, were deprived of instruction, I 

 feel an ardent desire to devote my la- 

 bors and existence to procure for them 

 the inestimable blessing of the educa- 

 tion of which their organization is sus- 

 ceptible, and which is so indispensable, 

 both for their own happiness, and to ren- 

 der them useful members of society. 



I was educated myself in the Institu- 

 tion of the Deaf and Dumb in this city, 

 and having acquired, by long appli<;a- 

 tion, a perfect knowledge of the most 

 approved method of instructing this un- 

 fortunate portion of society, I have for 

 these eigiit years exercised the func- 

 tions of teacher — I have also acquireil a 

 tolerable knowledge of the English lan- 

 guage. If tiie American government, 

 or benevolent individuals of your coun- 

 try, are disposed to favour an institution 

 in the United States, I would willingly 

 go there for that purpose. I can pro- 

 «,'ure satisfactory testimonials of my 

 moial ciiaractcr, and of my capacity lor 

 teaching the deaf and dumb, from re- 

 spectable military and commercial gen- 

 tlemen of the United States, who honor 

 me with their friendsiiip and esteem. I 

 shall rnljiely depend upon the wisdom 

 andjudgUHMit of the American govern- 

 ment, or of the individuals who under- 

 take to .Tssist me, in the present esta- 

 blisiinient, to fix the mode and plan of 

 its organization. 



Our Institution here is calculated for 

 sixty poor students, at the expence of 

 the government, which pays for each 

 GOO francs (about 1 14 d(jlls.) per annum, 

 and 24,(t00 (less than 0000 dolls.) for pro- 

 fessors, and sundry other charges; to 

 which is to be added the expence of a 

 Suit(iblobuiidiug;bcdi>,liiicii, &.«, lUiiKiug 



Original Inhahitants of America. 525 



the aggregate expence about 1000 francs 

 annually, (190 dollars,) for each indi- 

 vidual. — The rich pay the expeiwie of 

 their children — and if, as I have been 

 told, a considerable portion of the deaf 

 and dumb in the U. States have the 

 means of paying for these instructions, 

 the expence to the government or a pri- 

 vate society would be inconsiderable — 

 for myself, I do not claim great emolu- 

 ments, my desire and object is to serve 

 an aiHicted portion of humanity ; my am- 

 bition is to secure a comfortable subsfs- 

 tencc lor my family. 



I have the honour to be, with high re- 

 spect, sir, your humble servant, 

 F. Gard. 



Professor of the Roi/nl Scliool of Deaf 

 and Dumb at BoTileavx% 



Natiunal Advocate. 



THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF AMERICA 

 SHOWN TO Bli OF THE SAME FAMILY 

 AND LINKAGE WITH THOSE OF ASIA; 

 BY SAMUEL L. JIITCHILL, M.D., PRO- 

 FESSOU OF NATURAL HISTORY IN THE 

 UNIVERSITY OF NEW-YORK. 



The view which I took of the varie- 

 ties of the human race, in my course of 

 Natural History, delivered in the Uiii- 

 vcrsity of \ew-York, diflcrs in so maiiy 

 particulars from that entertained by the 

 great zoologist of the age, th;it I give 

 you for information, and without delay, 

 a summary of my yesterday's lecture to 

 my class. 



I denied, in the beginning, the asser- 

 tion that the Anierican aborigines were 

 ol' a peculiar constitution, of a race sui 

 generis, and of a cop|)er colour. All 

 these notions were treated as liincifuland 

 visionary. 



The indigenes of the two Americas 

 a|)pear to me to he of the same stock 

 anil genealogy with the inhabitants of 

 northern and southern A siii. 'i'lie north- 

 ern tribes were probably more hardy, 

 ferocious, and warlike, than those of the 

 south. 'I'he tribes of the lower latitudes 

 seem to have been greater proficients in 

 the arts, jjarticularly of making clothes, 

 clearing the ground, and erecting works 

 of defence. 



'J'hejiarallel between the people ofAme- 

 rica and Asia affords this important con- 

 elusion, that on both continents the hordes 

 dwelling in the higher latitudes have 

 overpowered the more civilized, tliongii 

 feebler, inhabitants of the countries .situ- 

 ated towards the cr|na1or. As the Tar- 

 tars have overrun China, so the Aztecas 

 subdued Mexico. As the Iluns and 

 Aluns dysolatcil Italy, so the Chipewas 



and 



